10 session -> Recommendations 10 session
RECOMMENDATIONS
by the 10th Session of Coordinating Committee on Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the Caspian Sea
The 10th Session of Coordinating Committee on Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the Caspian Sea (CASPCOM) was held in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, on 30 November – 1 December 2005. The Session was attended by participants from NHMS/NMS of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan. The Session reviewed the items of the agenda and made recommendations as follows.
National activities towards solving high priority problems in the field of hydrometeorology and pollution monitoring of the Caspian Sea (Agenda Item 3)
Having noted and approved the growing activity of the NHMS/NMS of the Caspian States on solving the priority problems in hydrometeorology and monitoring pollution of the Caspian Sea, the session recommended as follows.
- CASPCOM to establish a working group (WG) of NHMS/NMS experts in the hydrodynamic modeling of the Caspian Sea whose tasks are to
- Analyze the existing atmospheric circulations models and the hydrodynamics models of the Caspian Sea , and other internal and marginal seas (Black, Baltic, etc.);
- Evaluate the skills of the regional models in diagnosing and forecasting wind, waves, currents, wind surges, water exchange, transport of pollution and oil spills in the Caspian Sea;
- Update the regional models and to draft recommendations on model applications to practical and scientific problems in hydrometeorology and pollution monitoring the Caspian Sea.
(b) NHMS/NMS to provide the CASPCOM Secretariat with the list of the WG members and to inform the members on the WG tasks . The CASPAS Coordinator is to draft the Terms of Reference of the WG for their further presentation to the 11th Session of CASPCOM. The first meeting of the WG is to be held back to back with the 11th Session of CASPCOM.
( c ) NHMS/NMS to speed up the activities on the satellite determination of the heights of the sea level observation sites (primarily, with the long periods of observations) with a due account of the experience gained by Roshydromet in 2004 – 2005. By 30 April 2006, Roshydromet is to provide a report describing a methodology, technology and results of this work. The CASPCOM Secretariat shall distribute it among the NHMS/NMS.
(d) The NHMS/NMS to take measures aimed at improving exchange of the current hydrometeorological information thus filling the existing gaps in the data series.
Coordination of research and monitoring activities in the Caspian Sea following the IOC Workshop, Astrakhan, Russia, 11-13 November 2004 ( Agenda Item 4.3)
The Session noted information on the IOC Workshop recommendations , provided by the former CASPAS Coordinator. After a discussion, the session agreed that at the moment establishing of a WG of the WMO, IOC and UNEP representatives as recommended by the IOC Workshop was not feasible due to lack of a signed Agreement as the legal basis for the CASPCOM cooperation with the international organization and also due to serious financial implications for the international organization. Instead, a better cooperation between the projects and programmes in the Caspian Sea is recommended to be achieved by increased exchange between CASPCOM and other regional organizations programmes , primarily with CEP. The CASPCOM Chairman
- to address the international organizations requesting to inform the CASPCOM continuously about activities of the programme and projects performed under their auspices in the Caspian Sea;
- to invite the international organization to participate in the 11th CASPCOM Session.
Participation of the NHMS experts in the finalization of the Protocols to the Framework Convention for the protection of the marine environment of the Caspian Sea, Tehran, November, 2003(Agenda Item 4.2)
Having noted the report by Roshydromet and information by Kazhydromet on their participation in drafting Protocols to the Framework Convention , the Session recommended that CASPCOM and NHMS/NMS should continue such participation in order to insure that the potential of the NHMS in providing informational support to protection of the Caspian Sea marine environment becomes more visible. The CASPCOM Chairman to request UNEP to include CASPCOM/NHMS experts in the working groups drafting the Protocols.
On cooperation with CEP during the 2nd phase of its implementation (Agenda Item 4.3)
The session noted with satisfaction a wider cooperation between CASPCOM/NHMS and the Caspian Ecological Programme (CEP) in planning and implementation of the expedition surveys of the marine environment pollution and studies of pollutant fluxes with the river flow. Also noted was a convergence of the CASPCOM and CEP views on participation of NHMS and CASPCOM in the information support of the Caspian Sea environment protection. The CASPCOM Secretariat to request the CEP Project Coordination Unit (CEP CPU) to widen the NHMS participation in the ship surveys at the Caspian Sea. The NHMS to draft and provide proposals for better information exchange with CEP to the CASPAS Coordinator by 31 March 2006 for their summarizing and submitting to CEP CPU.
Progress in national agreeing upon and preparation for signing the draft “Agreement between the Caspian States on cooperation in the field of hydrometeorology and monitoring of the natural environment of the Caspian Sea” in the Caspian states
The session expressed concern on emergence of new circumstances, especially the Framework Convention on Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea (Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran, November 2003), which had led to changes in the country’s positions in respect to the Agreement. In particular, Azerbaijan delegation proposed to omit references to pollution monitoring in the text of Agreement because pollution monitoring had been dealt with by Art. 19 of the Framework Convention.
In view of this, session recommended that the agreeing procedure should not just continued but intensified. To achieve that, the session recommended to establish a Working Group of experts of NHMS/NMS and Foreign Ministries of the Caspian States to agree upon the draft Agreement and to hold a meeting of the Working Group in Moscow on 10-12 January 2006.
The major tasks of oceanographic research and observations in the Caspian Sea and measures towards further implementation of the CASPCOM Action Plan for 2004-2006
NHMS/NMS to draft and adopt national plans for implementation of the CASPCOM-10 recommendations, to nominate the national focal points and assign them with implementing the plans in coordination with CASPCOM Secretariat and CASPAS Coordinator. The national implementation plans are to include
- providing information support to the CASPCOM site ;
- describing the present state of the observation network;
- establishing networks of the NHMS experts in the priority problems of hydrometeorology and pollution monitoring of the Caspian Sea.
CASPAS Coordinator to draft and present at the 11 Session of CASPCOM a structure of the annually updated electronic reference book on hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea.
Formal nomination of the CASPAS Coordinator
Dr. Sergey Monakhov, the Director of the Roshydromet Caspian Research Marine Centre, located in Astrakhan, Russian Federation was formally nominated as the CASPAS Coordinator.
Other issues
The session agreed to the IRIMO suggestion that the CASPCOM Secretariat should be formed on principle of rotation and based in the country the currently chairing CASPCOM. The CASPCOM Secretariat to provide NHMS with the Terms of Reference of the CASPCOM Secretariat and CASPAS Coordinator, adopted by CASPCOM-5 (Obninsk, Russian Federation, October 2001) by 31 December 2006. CASPAS Coordinator to draft proposals on a procedure for a smooth transfer of the Secretariat powers and responsibilities as chairmanship is passed from one country to another and present them at CASPCOM –11.
The session noted information by the CEP representative on the CEP project on persistent organic pollutants (POP) in the Caspian Sea Basin. CASPAS Coordinator to request CEP PCU to provide more information on this project for further passing it to the Caspian NHMS with an proposal on participation in its implementation.
Date and place of 11th Session of CASPCOM
The session agreed to hold the 11th Session of CASPCOM in the Russian Federation in September 2006. CASPCOM Secretariat to specify the place and exact dates of the session and inform the NHMS of the Caspian states.
Agreement Between the Caspian States on Hydrometeorology and Environment Pollution Monitoring
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